


No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition

by guessbooks



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Academic team, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Trouble In Paradise, because hes definitely also a huge nerd, it's just like trivia for nerds in highschool, not stated but gilbert was just too busy to join
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23138578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guessbooks/pseuds/guessbooks
Summary: Anne is the start player of the Avonlea high school's Academic Team. What happens when her boyfriend Gilbert suddenly substitutes for a sick friend on Charlottetown's team and WINS? Needless to say, Anne is furious. Maybe this will lead to a much-needed talk about their relationship.
Relationships: Diana Barry & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	No One Expects the Spanish Inquisition

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! First Anne with an E fic on here, but I'm already working on another possibly multi-chapter one, so fingers crossed this one does well! Hope you enjoy these two idiots figuring out their relationship <3.

“I tell you, Diana, that Gilbert Blythe is _insufferable_!” Anne huffed, storming out of the classroom.

Her best friend quickly fell in step beside her, concerned, “But Anne he-”

“Completely betrayed me! We lost the match by 3 points, 3 points that could’ve been gained had he chosen to care more about his girlfriend than some stupid I.O.U!”

“I really don’t think his intention was to-”

“It never is!” Anne stopped suddenly, the final heel clack of her boot reverberating across the linoleum hall of the school hallway. “He never intends to flirt with other girls he’s just naturally charming, he never intends to miss our dates he’s just overbooked right now, he didn’t intend to ruin the one aspect of my life he hasn’t yet, it’s just unfortunate!”

Diana looked at her friend sympathetically, “Anne be rational, Gilbert sincerely means those things and you believed him before this incident. You already know he’s charismatic, it worked on you didn’t it?” She nudged Anne at this, her friend’s face remaining stoic but the beginnings of a blush feathering her cheeks. “And he never leads them on, he makes it clear that he has a girlfriend he’s _absolutely smitten with_. Plus,” she continues, “It’s not fair of you to expect him to be able to hang out with you as much as before, with Dellie just being born and all.”

Anne bit her lip, now guilt rising to the surface of her forever swirling pool of emotion. “Okay, okay,” she relented, “But that doesn’t change the fact that he was quite literally on the team against me today! How did he think I would be okay with that? ‘Oh, carrots by the way I’m going to fill in for Jack today for Academic Team regionals, I owe him one’ Oh, you mean the competition I’ve been working for weeks on?? The one I made you quiz me random trivia for the past 3 weeks? That regional tournament? Oh, sure sweetie what a great friend you are.” She said in a voice that dripped sarcasm, fully annoyed.

Diana stopped talking about the tournament after this, figuring her friend needed time to calm down. When they reached the entrance her Diana’s father was there to pick her up and drive her to her piano lesson, so she left Anne standing on the front steps.

Anne vaguely remembered that she had planned to get a ride with her boyfriend who was coming to cheer her on and rolled her eyes in complete doneness of how crappy the current day had been.

She scrolled through her contacts, pressing Matthew before she heard quick familiar footfalls behind her. 

“What.” She said in an even-keeled tone.

“Can we talk?” Gilbert said in a pleading tone.

Anne considered her options. She knew that Gilbert was aware that he had been her ride home from the tournament at Queen’s University, and would try to talk to her until Matthew showed up which would be at least another 30 minutes, or Anne could get a ride home and he could try to talk to her as he drove her home.

Anne turned and walked towards the parking lot.

“Carrots, I’m sorry.”

He unlocked the car. Anne got in, both pulling open and closing her door before her beau had the chance.

As he climbed into his seat he looked into Anne’s eyes imploringly. “I know I messed up.” Anne looked over at this, a single eyebrow raised. “Okay, I messed up a lot. I have been messing up a lot recently, with us, and I’m sorry.” With this, he started the car and started to pull away.

Anne looked out the window. “I can see how everyone else found it funny,” she started, “That even Anne Shirley-Cuthbert could be flustered over a boy.”

\---

The score was tied. It was Avonlea School versus Charlottetown High, with one substitute of Gilbert Blythe, who filled in for Jack from Charlottetown even though Gilbert himself technically went to Avonlea.

It was pretty clear that without Gilbert, Avonlea would’ve already won in a landslide. The tenacious carrottop Anne on their team rang the buzzer consistently, more than anyone on her team, her only close rival Gilbert Blythe, who single-handedly kept the school’s neck and neck.

Both high school students it seemed had forgotten that they were on a team altogether, and were staring at each other intently with a gaze that was both viciously competitive and mildly horny.

It was a tiebreaker. Each would get their own question individually to answer in 10 seconds or less, if they both got their question right it would officially be a draw and both teams would move on to the semifinals. 

Gilbert got a geography question. What’s the capital of Slovenia? Easy, the city of Ljubljana. 

Anne’s category: History. Question: What year did the Spanish Inquisition begin? Anne smiled as Gilbert winked at her, knowing that she and Gilbert had reviewed this question just a week before.

_‘No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!’ Gilbert imitated from a Monty Python movie they had seen recently._

_Anne smiled and rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, but what year was it I actually can’t remember.”_

_“That information,” Gilbert began, eyebrows wiggling, “Is going to have to cost you, Miss.”_

_Thus began something that began PG-rated, but by the end of the evening would not be allowed in theaters._

Anne’s smile faded as the memory ended. She didn’t know the answer. She _didn’t. Know. The answer._ She looked up panicked at Gilbert who’s face showed recognition just ass the buzzer went off.

“Mr. Blythe, would you like to steal?”

Gilbert looked reluctant to, but seeing as either way Charlottetown won now he mumbled “1478” into the microphone in front of him. As the ding sounded his team exploded into cheers, patting him on the back and whooping loudly.

As her team tried to comfort Anne around her she was silent and shellshocked. Then slowly, all she saw was red. She bolted up out of her seat and practically ran from the large Queen’s lecture hall.

\---

“Nobody thought that,” Gilbert said, assuring her, “It was just an unfortunate last question.”

“It was in my study guide, though,” Anne said, her anger being replaced with self-pity and tiredness. “I forgot about it entirely,”

Gilbert came to a stop sign and fully stopped, turning to Anne. “I really am sorry Anne, for both joining the competition in the first place, and forgetting to tell you the answer to that dumb question.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I should’ve told Jack I had… conflicting interests.”

“So that’s what I’m being called today, is it?”

“Anne,” Gilbert pleaded, “I know I’ve been not the best boyfriend recently. I didn’t notice the waitress the other day-”

“She practically was throwing her tits at you-!”

“I canceled 4 dates this month-”

“Canceled last minute, after you should’ve already arrived each time-!”

“And I didn’t support you the best I could’ve! I should’ve taken both your studying seriously and not competed with you in a tournament you really cared about and I’m sorry and I’d take it all back if I could-” A car honked from behind them impatiently and Gilbert continued to drive.

“I want you to know,” he began, “That I realize I’ve been a bad partner, and I mean it when I say that if you’ll let me,” he paused, “I will do better. I have a habit of only noticing you when I’m around you, and a lot of the time I still want to see you even if I’m over my head with other commitments and I have no choice but to cancel, and being alone with you drives me crazy and all I want to do is drive you senseless.”

Anne blushed profusely at this but kept blankly staring out the window as he spoke.

“But if I’m only noticing your cute nose or body then I’m not paying attention to your feelings, like one saying ‘hey boyfriend maybe make it clear to women around you that you’re taken’, and if I’m in over my head I should tell you ahead of time so I’m not wasting yours having you wait for me when I’m not going to show up, and if something is important to you-” he paused, pulling over so he could gently cup Anne’s chin to stare directly in her eyes. “Then I should take it seriously.”

Anne felt her bottom lip tremble at this and turned her head away quickly as tears started streaming down her face. She wiped at them furiously in vain as more kept coming, her huffing her frustration. “I just, I just couldn’t tell if all this time I was being unreasonable,” she sniffed.

“I know I’m dramatic and hotheaded and I know I lead with my emotions and think rationally second, and sometimes it’s hard to tell if my feelings are actually valid? Or if I’m just making problems up in my head. It was driving me crazy,” She laughed, wiping her face again. “Crazier.”

Gilbert looked regretfully at Anne, his Anne, who had hurt, and felt indescribably sorry for. He reached out and cupped her face, leaning forward slowly and stopping before their lips touched.

Anne tilted her head and met his lips. It was a solemn kiss, but one that clearly meant the other wanted their relationship to work despite recent struggles.

“You know,” Anne said as they separated, “I was sure that us getting together in the first place was going to be the hardest part of our relationship. I was so sure of it back then.”

Gilbert smiled wryly. “Guess we can never make it too easy on each other, huh carrots?”

The rest of the drive to Avonlea was uneventful until they got closer to Green Gables.

“Stop,” Anne suddenly said as Gilbert got to an intersection. She looked to the side, slightly bashful, which was a little out of the ordinary for Anne. “Are… Sebastian and Mary home with Dellie?”

Gilbert shook his head. “They’re gone for the weekend to visit the Bog why…” the boy finally caught onto the look in his girlfriend’s eye. He turned left, away from Green Gables and toward his own home. 

“We have an AP Chem test on Monday,” Anne stated matter of factly. “And I thought this could be a good way to teach you how exactly how to help your partner study.” Anne’s lips curled up into a false innocent smile as she batted her eyes at her boyfriend.

Gilbert gulped, definitely going slightly over the speed limit as he raced home.


End file.
